Gov. Eric Holcomb hailed President Donald Trump's Thursday declaration that the opioid epidemic, responsible for ending 64,000 lives last year, should be considered a national public health emergency.

Holcomb applauded the president's move in a written statement and said that it was a necessary step to slow the epidemic that killed 757 people in Indiana in 2016, according to state statistics.

“It will take an all-hands-on-deck approach with local, state and federal partners working together to attack this epidemic," Holcomb said in the emailed statement. "Today, our state is engaging every resource at our disposal and using a three-pronged approach to tackle this problem with prevention, treatment and enforcement."

Holcomb has made addressing the opioid epidemic one of the pillars of his office. He has appointed a "drug czar" to oversee the state's efforts in this area. This summer, the Family and Social Services Administration announced that it would cover methadone treatment for those on Medicaid for the first time.

Declaring a national public health emergency — which will last for 90 days and can be renewed after that — would open the door to expanding telemedicine care for those with substance use disorders. It also could give local and federal government more flexibility to hire substance use counselors.

Under the emergency, the Department of Labor's Dislocated Worker Grants, normally available to those who have lost work because of a natural disaster, could be made available to people in treatment for an opioid use disorder. Almost half, or 44 percent, of unemployed men ages 25 to 54, had taken a painkiller in the past day, according to the Council of Economic Advisers.

Trump's decision to declare a public health emergency also drew praise from those who work in recovery. Addiction kills more young adults than any other chronic disease, noted Suzanne Koesel, chief executive officer of Centerstone Indiana, which has clinics throughout Indiana offering community based addiction services.

"Acknowledging opioid use as a public health emergency will enable more individuals to receive timely, evidence-based care," Koesel said in an emailed statement. "However, additional resources are urgently needed to truly slow the damaging impact this crisis is having on American families and our economy.”

Declaring opioids a public health emergency — the first nationwide health emergency since the H1N1 epidemic of 2009-10 — allows the government to tap into a special emergency fund.

At this time, that fund has only $57,000 in it, but officials have said they would ask Congress to add additional money to it during the end-of-the-year budget negotiations.

Indiana Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly said in a statement that he would continue to push several bipartisan pieces of legislation, including ones that would address the shortage of providers who offer substance abuse services.

"We know it will take an all-hands on deck approach at the federal, state and local levels to combat the opioid epidemic," he said. "The president’s announcement is another important step in the ongoing effort to bring more awareness to this escalating crisis that has devastated families and communities across Indiana and our country”

Trump's declaration of a public health emergency will pressure Congress to act, said New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who chairs the president's opioid commission.

"My view is that this action sends a clear signal from the president that he wants money appropriated into that fund," he said. "And it gives Congress a place to go with that money to give the administration some flexibility to use it to be able to use it to deal with some of the most pressing parts of it."

In Indiana a number of entities have come together to combat the opioid epidemic. Earlier this month, Indiana University announced a $55 million Grand Challenges initiative to allow researchers to focus on the problem.

The state also has requested a waiver from the federal government to include additional recovery services on the Healthy Indiana Plan for those with substance abuse disorders. If that request is granted, it could mean an additional $60 million to $65 million. In addition, the Pew Charitable Trusts will work with the state to help improve data and policy analysis of the opioid crisis.

The Associated Press and USA TODAY contributed to this story.

Call IndyStar reporter Shari Rudavsky at (317) 444-6354. Follow her on Twitter and on Facebook.

IndyStar’s “State of Addiction: Confronting Indiana's Opioid Crisis” series is made possible through the support of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, a nonprofit foundation working to advance the vitality of Indianapolis and the well-being of its people.